Of Loss and Love
by Dead Profile
Summary: Don't you hate it when you go to adopt a pet and it's already taken?


*These creatures aren't my creation :P*  
  
Of Loss and Love  
  
I opened my eyes. The light blazing all around me stung my eyes so viciously I shut them again. Where am I? I thought, Who am I? "Wake up, little one," a soft voice crooned. I opened one eye, just a slit, though, for fear of the light. There, standing in front of me, was a pretty blonde girl with blue eyes. "Hello," She smiled, "I am your owner, ArcAngel36." I looked past the girl at my surroundings. The walls were baby blue and the ceiling was white. It was quite pretty. I looked back at the girl. "Mmngh," I mumbled. ArcAngel36 laughed. "Your name is Dezrion." So that's who I was!  
  
Soon I learned that I was an Eyrie, a red Eyrie to be exact, and about the size of a puppy. I was ArcAngel36's first and only pet. Months passed and Angel (as she liked me to call her) and me became best friends. We would go to the park and play on the swings, then go for ice cream.  
  
One day, as I was watching T.V., Angel exclaimed, "Oh how cute!" As usual, I thought she was talking about me, so I smiled and turned around. But when I saw her, she had her face buried in the latest edition of the Neopian Times. "How darling!" She cooed. I got off the couch and went to see. In the paper was the article 'A New Look For Kacheeks'. Under it was the picture of the new Kacheek. I had to admit, it was rather cute.  
  
Suddenly Angel got up and headed out the door, without even looking at me. I was surprised and hurt, but I sat down and watched more T.V. About two hours later Angel returned with a happy pink Kacheek who was licking a popsicle. I stared at it in disbeleif. "Dezrion, this is your new sister, Butterfly_Bubblegum. Bubbles, this is Dezrion." I couldn't beleive it. She had already given it a nickname! I didn't even have a nickname!  
  
Oh, well, I thought to myself, Angel will get over this Kackeek thing in a while. Then things will be back to normal.  
  
Things started out okay, Angel treated us both equal, then, little by little, she began favoring Butterfly_Bubblegum. First just a little, then a bit more, untill it got to if Bubblegum broke a lamp right in front of Angel and I was in another room, she would punish me. Soon, Angel totally ignored me. If I wanted food, I would have to go my friend's house. If I wanted clothes, I would have to go to the Money Tree. Angel had even given Bubblegum my room and my toys! I slept outside, in the yard.  
  
One day, as I was eating a Can of Beans I had gotten from the Money Tree, Angel came to me and told me to get in the car. (I had grown to the size of a St. Bernard dog, so she couldn't have carried me.) I got in. "Where are we going?" I asked. "The Pound." Angel said straight out without looking at me. I gasped. I wanted to scream "I thought you loved me!" but I seemed to have left my voice back at that last stopsign.  
  
By the time we got to the Pound I was sobbing hystericly. We got out of the car, and walked, me with my head drooped, into the Pound. Angel handed a bag of Neopoints to the yellow Techo at the desk and pointed at me. He nodded. Angel turned on her heel and headed to the door. "Angel," I whispered. She turned. Her face was expressionless. "I love you..." I said quietly. Angel's eye twitched, then I watched a tear fall onto her cheek. She turned and left.  
  
"NOOOO!" I cried, but the Techo had fastened a collar and leash on me and was dragging me back to where the cages were. I was shoved into a large cage, all by myself. As I saw, other pets, as soon as they were put into their cages, curled up in a corner and cried. I would not do that. To act defeated, like my life was over. No. I would fight. I picked myself up, and with a shriek through myself at the iron bars of my cage. I would get out or die trying. I did not know what I was trying to acheive, I only knew that somehow this would help.  
  
All the other Neopets were looking at me. I was crying now, whether they were tears of pain or sadness, I do not know. I was blinded by fury, hate, and my tears. I slammed myself against the bars again and again, screeching at the top of my lungs. I could not feel the pain I was inflicting upon myself, only the hatred. I was making so much noise, Dr. Death barged in and yelled, "SHUT UP!" and when that did not work, hit me across the head with a metal food dish. I blacked out.  
  
I woke up the next morning in more pain than you can imagine. My whole body felt like it had been severly bruised, and contact with anything made me wince. I felt like I had broken a few of my ribs, it hurt to inhale. I groaned as the cage door opened and a bowl of gruel slid through. I was too weak and in too much pain to get up and eat it, so I just lay there.  
  
In a few days I had worked up enough strengh to go and eat it, and a few days after that my bruises went down and I could breathe without pain. A week later, my body was fully healed, but my spirit was not. I lay in my cage, crying, thinking of ArcAngel36. After that memory had grown too painful, I began to wonder why I didn't have a 'cagemate' like most of the other pets did. I asked Dr. Death this when he gave me my gruel. He just snapped and said, "Mind your own business."  
  
In a few months, I knew why I had my own cage. Despite the lack of nutrition in the gruel, I had grown to about the size of a big horse. Now I was perfectly capable of knocking the cage bars to the floor, but unfortunatly, Dr. Death had notcied this too and had gotten Edna the Witch to cast a spell on the bars so I could not knock them down. The cage was almost too small now.  
  
The Pound is more depressing than I can describe. The atmosphere was sad, the air was thick with the stench of fear. It was stuffy and hot. Every day Neopians looking for a pet to adopt would come in, look at the pets to my left, look at the pets to my right, occasionally adopt one, and leave. They usually didn't even look at me, despite my size, and when they did glance at me, they thought, No. It probably eats a lot. I would go broke trying to feed it.  
  
One day a pretty girl with long, straight, shiny, raven-black hair and electric green eyes came into the pound. She was tall and had longs legs. She wore a navy sweatshirt that was too big for her, jeans, and sneakers. I dunno what it was, maybe her friendly appearance and pleasing smile, but every Neopet's head (including mine) turned to look at her. She sent off some sort of vibe or something. Everyone could tell she was nice, loving, faithful, honest, fair, everything a pet wants in an owner.  
  
She walked by, scratching the tops of pets' heads, or under their chins, clucking and whispering soothing words to them all. As she procceded to the next pet's cage, the page she had just left had a mixture of contentment, love, and admiration on it's face, with a big smile. As soon as she entered the pound, the atmosphere changed completely and hope was the smell in the air. Every pet's mood changed from dispair to happiness. It was like she was surounded with a golden light or something.  
  
When she came to my cage, she scratched me underneath my beak. I purred contentivly. She smiled and continued to stroke the rest of the pets. I was sad to see her go. Oh, I wanted this girl for my owner more than anything! After she had visited all the pets, she came back to my cage. She picked up an empty gruel bucket, turned it upside-down, and sat on it, like a stool.  
  
She looked me in the eye. "So," she said, "Tell me about yourself." Her voice was golden and rich, like a blazing fire when it was snowing, or like a hot bath when you're cold. It was sweet and innocent, like the springtime singing of robins, or like a small trickling brook. It was all of these in one, soothing and pleasing to listen to.  
  
I cleared my throat and looked at her. Suddenly the whole story that I had never bothered to tell anyone came spilling out. All of it. About Angel, about Bubbles, about everything. All the other pets were silent, listening to me. It felt so good to finally tell someone, to release all the pain and feelings I had kept bottled up inside me. I started to cry. It didn't matter, I felt safe with this girl, even though I was about a foot taller then her and at least three times her weight.  
  
By the end of the story, the girl was crying, and so was every other pet in the pound. Even the visitors looking for a pet to adopt had stopped to listen, and were now crying. I felt free. There was nothing left to plague my mind. I felt a hundred pounds lighter. All hatred was lifted from my spirit. The girl wiped her eyes and smiled at me.  
  
"My name is ShadowKae." She said, "Would you like to be my pet?" I was lost for words. Finally I regained my senses and screamed "YES!!!" ShadowKae stood up and took her wallet out of her pocket just as a girl ShadowKae's age with brown hair and brown eyes came and opened my cage and took me out on a leash. (The real-world equivalent of pressing the 'Adopt' button) I was stunned. "What are you doing?" I cried. "I want to be Kae's pet!" She just tugged on my leash, and even though I was so big and could have easily resisted, I had to follow. I had no choice.  
  
"KAE!" I screamed through tears. Kae was staring at me with her mouth open, too stunned to speak. She just stood there, frozen on the spot. The ugly girl with brown hair sneered at Kae. "You snooze you lose! And you lose! I'm gonna make a fortune in trophies and money with this guy's writing skills! I'll be famous!" She only wanted me because I could tell a story! "NOOOO!!! KAE!!!" I cried. The other pets in the pound were shaking their cage bars at the brown haired girl in anger. It raised a lot of noise.  
  
The girl paid for me and took me outside. It was really good to be outside, even though I was not outside with the person I wanted to be with. She turned to me. "My name is trophy_champ." Her voice was whiney. "But you can call me Boss." I shuddered as tears streamed down my face. "Kae..." I sobbed. "Quit talking about Kae!" She screamed. We walked to her Neohome, which was one bedroom, one bathroom, and one kitchen. "Where do I stay?" I asked. "Out back, in the stables." STABLES?!?!? I cried harder. "GO!" Boss screamed. I went to the back and curled up ontop of some hay and cried myself to sleep.  
  
The next day a two letters came from Kae. One for me, and one for Boss. I opened mine.  
  
Dear Dezrion, it said, I miss you a lot. I did not adopt a pet after you left, I still want you to be mine. I am asking Trophy_Champ if I can buy you for 1000NP, even though I think that's a little crude. You cannot 'buy' a person, or pet. Stay strong, and keep you head up. Don't worry, someday you'll be mine. I promise. :)  
  
Love,  
  
Kae  
  
I cried, smudging the ink. I looked at Boss. She was reading her letter. "1000NP? What does she think I am? A fool?" And procceded to rip her letter to shreds.  
  
Late that night, I snuck into Boss's house and stole a peice of paper and a pen. I then crept back to the stable and wrote a letter to Kae in the dark.  
  
Dear Kae,  
  
I miss you so much! Trophy_Champ said that 1000NP was not enough. I'm sorry. I love you. Please get me out of here.  
  
Love,  
  
Dezrion  
  
By the time I was done, the ink was so tear-smudged it was barely legible, but I knew Kae would be able to read it. I stuck the letter in an envelope and put it in the mail slot. I then went back to the stable and re-read Kae letter over and over, until I could recite it by memory. I cried myself to sleep for the second time.  
  
The next day, a package containing a red Eyrie plushie, a book, and a Splime Smoothie came to me from Kae, with the note, Keep your hopes up! Love, Kae Boss got another letter from Kae offering a higher price for me. "5000NP? As if!" Every day it was the same. Kae would send me a package of food and toys, and send Boss a higher price for me, which she would always refuse. By the second month, I was begining to lose hope. How many Neopoints did Kae have that she was willing to pay for me? She was bound to give up soon.  
  
One day, as I was sweeping the kitchen (One of the many chores Boss made me do) while Boss ate her omelette, the doorbell rang. I went to answer it, and it was KAE!!!! She threw her arms around my neck and buried her face in my soft red fur. When she released me her face was shining with tears. "I love you..." she said, and I nuzzled her cheek. Now I was crying.  
  
Kae came inside and sat down at the table where Boss was finishing her omelette. "You!" Boss screeched. I sat down by Kae's chair and she stroked my head. "I want to make you another offer." Kae said sternly. She took out a bag of Neopoints and dropped them on the table. "100,000NP." Boss read the tag. Kae stared hard at Boss.  
  
100,000NP! That was a LOT of money! Boss looked severly tempted. "And what else?" She finally said. What a witch! For the next three hours the two of them argued and bargained, over ME! It's the weirdest feeling, sitting there, watching people fight with large amounts of money over YOU.  
  
Finally, Kae pulled out a Faerie Paint Brush. "How about this?!" She said. "100,000NP and a Faerie Paint Brush? It's ALL I have!" "Fine!" Boss snapped and pulled the items towards her. Kae slid out of her chair and onto the floor. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I placed a paw around her middle, and we just sat there, crying tears of happines. I was Kae's pet! She had given Boss every single Neopoint she owned, her most treasured posessions, just to have me. Kae lifted her head and said to me in a choked voice "It was worth it."  
  
The End  
  
Author's note: Okay, I lied. :) My real name isn't Kae, and I don't have green eyes. My eyes are chocolate brown. ShadowKae was my old account before it got frozen. 


End file.
